Today's Buzz is wide-ranging. We know it has something to do with the people we choose to read but here goes: we get the distinct feeling that VOIP is
becoming the driving force in broadband. Cable companies, like Comcast are
bundling Cable, Broadbrand and Internet telephone services in a single package.
Some of our more astute observers are noting that the real business of the big
telco's is providing the pipe. Vonage, one of the VOIP leaders, for its part has announced the release of a telephone that lets its subscribers plug into Wi-Fi networks to make their calls. As the mobile phone companies get better at providing their own Wi-Fi services it will be hard for customers to distinguish whether they are spending their network minutes or tapping into VOIP services.
Another interesting thought that seems only to snowball as the new year breaks, is the breakdown of traditional media control. First it was blogs and the RSS feeds that make new content readily availale to an audience hungry for alternatives to their daily rag. Then came podcasting and it was possible to imagine a world of broadcasting without the towers and major equipment. Following fast on its heels is video blogging. Wired magazine has a gray cell
stimulating article entitled
the "BitTorrent Effect" on Bram Cohen, the BitTorrent man.
Here's a quote: "All hell's about to break loose," says Brad Burnham, a venture capitalist with Union Square Ventures in Manhattan, which studies the impact of new technology on traditional media. BitTorrent does not require the wires or airwaves that the cable and network giants have spent billions constructing and buying. And it pounds the final nail into the coffin of must-see, appointment television. BitTorrent transforms the Internet into the world's largest TiVo.
Here's a charming start to the day, an article on Microsoft getting two new patents, one on a compiler and the other on an "improved" system and method for editing software. Innovation marches on. Obviously, if you are a programmer, you probably don't want to be reading patents, but for the rest of us, the compiler patent, U.S. Patent number 6,836,883, titled "Method and system for compiling multiple languages", is here and the editing patent, US Patent 6,836,884 titled "Method and system for editing software programs" is here. The first is described as a method or "process involving the parsing and analyzing of more than one source language to produce a common language file that may then be read by the same or another front end system." Well. The world is crying out for a compiler that can do that. The patent cites the Free Software Foundation's GCC in the prior art section. I'll say.
Tony Hammond, Timo Hannay, and Ben Lund write:
RSS is one of a new breed of technologies that is contributing to the ever-expanding dominance of the Web as the pre-eminent, global information medium. It is intimately connected with—though not bound to—social environments such as blogs and wikis, annotation tools such as del.icio.us, Flickr and Furl, and more recent hybrid utilities such as JotSpot, which are reshaping and redefining our view of the Web that has been built up and sustained over the last 10 years and more [n1]. Indeed, Tim Berners-Lee's original conception of the Web was much more of a shared collaboratory than the flat, read-only kaleidoscope that has subsequently emerged: a consumer wonderland, rather than a common cooperative workspace. Where did it all go wrong?These new 'disruptive' technologies [n2] are now beginning to challenge the orthodoxy of the traditional website and its primacy in users' minds. The bastion of online publishing is under threat as never before. RSS is the very antithesis of the website. It is not a 'home page' for visitors to call at, but rather it provides a synopsis, or snapshot, of the current state of a website with simple titles and links. While titles and links are the joints that articulate an RSS feed, they can be freely embellished with textual descriptions and richer metadata annotations. Thus said, RSS usually functions as a signal of change on a distant website, but it can more generally be interpreted as a kind of network connector—or glue technology—between disparate applications. Syndication and annotation are the order of the day and are beginning to herald a new immediacy in communications and information provision. This paper describes the growing uptake of RSS within science publishing as seen from Nature Publishing Group's (NPG) perspective.
Paul Allen has a list.
align="center" border="0" height="150" width="200" />
Ford will offer Sirius as a factory-installed option on Ford and Lincoln Mercury models starting with the 2006 model
year later this year on the F-150 pickup line, the Ford Explorer, the Lincoln Mark LT, and the Mercury Mountaineer.
Ford expects to add 1,000,000 Sirius subscribers across the 2006 and 2007 model years, and eventually put Sirius radios
in 80 percent of Ford and Lincoln Mercury vehicles.
Trading up some 30% since last year. The United States accounts for more than half of the world's file traders, according to a new study spotlighted at p2pNet. Using data collected from Big Champagne, the OECD reports Europe and Canada are experiencing the fastest p2p growth, and overa..
DSL surge to bring sub-$100 cable triple plays. A new report by Legg Mason suggests DSL will have a banner year in 2005, forcing cable providers to follow Cablevision's lead and begin offering sub-$100 triple play bundles. The report also concludes that cable providers will "broaden the use of lo..
Cory Doctorow:
Andhra Pradesh is a state in India where the government has just awarded a contract to a consortium of companies to roll out 2Mb/s broadband to every village, at a monthly cost of about US$2.50.
A consortium led by Gurgaon-based Aksh Broadband Limited has been selected to implement the Rs 400-crore Andhra Pradesh broadband project, which aims at extending broadband services to each and every village of the state in the next two years.
(via /.)
Cory Doctorow:
Kuro5hin published an article by a Wikipedia co-founder, in which he slams Wikipedia for its "anti-elitism" and calls on the organization to mend its ways in order to earn the confidence of academics, librarians and other learned types. I read it when it was first published and it seemed wrong to me, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Now Clay Shirky -- himself an academic -- has written a wonderful and comprehensive rebuttal of the piece, explaining why complaints of "anti-elitism" are misplaced.
Of course librarians, teachers, and academics don't like the Wikipedia. It works without privelege, which is inimical to the way those professions operate.This is not some easily fixed cosmetic flaw, it is the Wikipedia's driving force. You can see the reactionary core of the academy playing out in the horror around Google digitizing books held at Harvard and the Library of Congress -- the NY Times published a number of letters by people insisting that real scholarship would still only be possible when done in real libraries. The physical book, the hushed tones, the monastic dedication, and (unspoken) the barriers to use, these are all essential characteristics of the academy today.
It's not that it doesn't matter what academics think of the Wikipedia -- it would obviously be better to have as many smart people using it as possible. The problem is that the only thing that would make the academics happy would be to shoehorn it into the kind of filter, then publish model that is broken, and would make the Wikipedia broken as well.
: In a scathing column headlined "Amazon.com: A Champiopn Online Money Loser: How an Internet Marketing 'Wizard' Went Wrong," marketing vet Al Ries takes Amazon and Bezos apart. The headline is a jab at BusinessWeek's recent spotlight on "The Wizard of Web Retailing"(reg. req.) as one of the great innovators of the last 75 years. Ries argues that Bezos' wizardry lies in marketing, not retailing. But he takes Amazon to task for diffusing its brand instead of developing other brands for various aspects of its business. Some excerpts:
--"In the past decade, the wizard of Web retailing has managed to lose $3 billion. That works out to an astounding 17.1 percent loss on each dollar of sales. ... A retailing wizard? When you look at the numbers, Amazon.com looks more like Kmart than Wal-Mart. As a matter of fact, in the last decade, Kmart managed to lose only 1.8 percent on each dollar of sales and Kmart went bankrupt."
-- "If you want to make money, keep your brand focused. If you want to make the pages of Business Week, be our guest, get into everything."
I just got off the phone with a VC who says that analysis is off base and assures me Amazon is a thriving business with plenty of cash in the bank. I'm not sure that cancels out Ries' efforts to look beyond the myth but it's worth remembering.
Mark Evans :: Wholesale VOIP points to what folks like Keith Bare @ Voipnuke and I have been saying about Level3, but he adds a twist about Qwest.
What many people fail to realize is Qwests fiber runs along many of the same domestic routes as Level3 because when Level3 went to the railway to have the lines sunk along their rights of way, Qwest was born by laying fiber at the same time.
The two are destined to eventually be one company in my mind.
I hear this canard over and over: that it takes constant attention to make a Linux installation work right, which means the cost of administering a Linux system is higher than maintaining one running a proprietary operating system. While it's true that you can spend almost every waking hour tweaking a Linux server, network or desktop, most Linux users don't need to do this any more than most car owners need to adjust their tire pressure to meet the demands of every road surface they encounter in the course of a day's driving.
Microsoft "estimates that it is reasonably possible it will incur additional exposure of up to $950 million for remaining antitrust claims, including $200 million above the amount previously described in its most recent 10-K filing with the SEC related to resolving remaining class action overcharge cases." This from their press release of the $536 million settlement with Novell over NetWare.
$950 million isn't much considering their revenue is over $1 billion per month and their other large payouts. And of course all out-of-court settlements do not include any admission of wrongdoing by Microsoft. So they're almost home free. That is of course until more illegal actions come to light.
Those of us who know at least a little about computer security and the evils of Microsoft can rest a little easier. Microsoft's first significant attempt to control internet transactions has died. They have ended their Passport partner program which gave them access to millions of credit card numbers, phone numbers, addresses, and web site passwords. They attempted to be the central authority of security and transactions but fortunately companies such as eBay eventually realized the risks of their users' security being handled by a closed system from an unreliable company. In 2003 they exposed all 200 million accounts with a very simple security hole.
With any luck Microsoft's customers and partners will open their eyes to the never ending list of other problems and we'll see more competition in the IT industry.
"Naked Eye" Comet Machholz (binoculars recommended) nears maximum brightness in the coming days ( starchart here and here). How to photograph a comet and other objects.
The story of its discovery (his 10th). Comet hunters are an interesting breed. Now you can discover comets from your 'puter with SOHO imagery.
If stargazing interests you, you may also like the Wunderground astronomy web application (based on U.S. zip codes).
PARK SERVICE STICKS WITH BIBLICAL EXPLANATION FOR GRAND CANYON The Bush Administration has decided that it will stand by its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah’s flood rather than by geologic forces, according to internal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
Gurunet, which I and many others have lauded in the past, is shedding its subscription model and is now free, at Answers.com. Cool!
We’ve seen the typewriter hugging luddites of old media attack blogs in 2004, but will 2005 be the “Year of of Blog Backlash"? The Gothamist seems to think so, linking to an article by John Schwartz at the NY Times (registration required) that includes the lines
“But the blogosphere’s tendency toward crackpot theorizing and political smack down could not be suppressed for long.”
Then there is the anonymous peice in the Times Online
“pundits got it badly wrong this week in hyping the role of bloggers capturing the drama of the tsunami disaster as it happened”
The attack of the typewriter hugging luddite press hacks for 2005 has begun.
While many telcos are somewhat dreading how VoIP will cut into their cash cow voice revenue, some are suggesting telcos need to take a radically different view of VoIP. The key ingredient, though, is realizing they're not telcos, but broadband providers (something Verizon has said -- but it's not clear if they fully realize this yet). Then, VoIP can act as a trojan horse for broadband. The thinking is that nearly all of telco customers have voice service, but a small percentage get broadband from them (if they get it from anyone). However, if telcos offered to swap out regular phone service for VoIP without the corresponding internet service, they would also have the data service ready to go if the customer ever wanted it. That is, it's easier to convince people just to switch from a traditional phone line to VoIP (especially since its cheaper) than to convince them to sign up for broadband and VoIP. Basically, they'd be offering a broadband offering that isn't an internet service -- just for VoIP. However, everything would be set up for internet and other services, so if a user wanted to switch on the ISP side, they could do so with a single request, rather than any installation work. It's certainly an interesting approach, but it's not likely that the telcos will move in this direction any time soon.
EvilStein writes "Vonage is announcing plans for a WiFi phone that will allow Vonage subscribers to make VoIP calls from any WiFi hotspot. The phones are said to cost about $100. This looks to be a pretty cool setup and might rattle the wireless industry quite a bit if they pull it off." Another story notes that battery life won't be as good as existing cell phones.
djgil writes "Looks like Samsung needs to be more careful what they do with their powerpoints. A number of prototype Samsung phones have appeared online including three that used Windows Mobile. One phone uses a 500Mhz processor and other had a 3Gbyte Hard Drive for music."
Keeper Finders from Slate gives you a fast rundown on new programs in desktop search, along with grades. Copernic comes up tops with an A. MSN follows with a B. Google's third with a C+, followed by HotBot (C)...
Looking for an answer to a specific question? Check out this list of the best reference sites of 2004, as compiled by the American Library Association.
Largely overlooked during the holiday craziness last month, Yahoo introduced real-time traffic information for 70 major U.S. cities.
Videora, a BitTorrent/RSS Reader that will basically help you locate, find, and keep up with downloaded TV shows and movies, has just launched. Here are some screenshots, which look really slick and easy to use. It even has wishlist and season pass functionality so it's not too far off to think this could replace a TiVo and network/cable TV in a few years.
Om has a good review of it that mentions a key point: all the cool cutting edge stuff that is anything near quasi-legal seems to be coming out of Canada, not the US, due to the copyright cartel's constant lawsuits.
interesting concept in creating a low tech tv "station"
Wow since Skype has published the API only some months have passed but things are developing with light speed:
- The Skype Answering Machine is here
- Stuart and Bill reveal how to record Skype conf calls dubbed Skypecast
Related entries:
Skype and Google to merge?... - Jun 03, 2004
VoIP, Skype and Bluetooth... - Sep 26, 2004
Skype innovates... - Nov 12, 2004
Skype behind nasty firewalls... - Oct 27, 2004
Skype and Bluetooth = your private phone booth?... - Oct 07, 2004
Innovation and Operators... - Oct 06, 2004
Related Research Reports:
Agilent Resells and Integrates Brix Networks VoIP Technology
(1 pages)
US$500 from
IDC
This IDC Flash analyzes the announcement on November 11, 2003, by Brix Networks
of its establishment of a partnership with Agilent as a technology and reseller
partner. Agilent will resell Brix Veri...
VoIP: Spending and Trends, May 2004
(16 pages)
US$1295 from
eMarketer
Attention: Telecom Carriers, Cable Companies, Large and Small Businesses, Advertisers and Marketers
The VoIP: Spending and Trends spotlight report delves into the numbers behind the excitement that...
2004 Global VoIP Overview
(103 pages)
US$595 from
Paul Budde Communication
Annual report on: Internet, e-mail, permission based marketing, Spam, Cybercrime, IP telephony (VoIP), websites, web hosting, search engines, videostreaming; webcasting, multicasting, highspeed servic...
You may check out our actual sponsor
Gary and toprank both point to the threadlinked New York Post article above that points out that Crispin Porter & Bogusky may have a shot at the title based on previous low key work on billboards to hire techies.
Hiring an ad agency of record would mark a strategic change for Google, which has become one of the world's most recognized brands simply by word of mouth. With "googling" now part of the global lexicon, the company's name is synonymous with online search.
But Google is engaged in fierce competition with the likes of Yahoo! and Microsoft for consumers. The company has been rolling out new products right and left, betting it can innovate faster than rivals.
Known for being ultra-secretive about its plans, Google has declined to comment on an ad review. A Crispin spokeswoman would neither confirm nor deny that the agency had worked for Google.
After the resignation of Cindy McCaffrey last month it would be very interesting to see if Google would move away from their long held tradition of low-key word of mouth and jump into the mainstream media jungle...
No, don't laugh, it's true...
Mary Jo Foley reports in the threadlink above that M$ are "rumoured" to be prepping for a fee-based anti-spyware and anti-virus solution according to loose tongued developers:
Publicly, Microsoft continues to be cagey about packaging and pricing plans for its anti-spyware and anti-virus solutions. But privately, Microsoft has begun informing partners of its plans for a security subscription service code-named "A1," according to developers who requested anonymity.
Craigslist has an unconventional approach to investing in its 'brand': it doesn't do anything. "We never even use that word internally," Mr. Buckmaster [Craigslist's CEO] said. "We do zero advertising. We don't have a logo. Now we're told that we have the strongest brand ever for a company our size."
from "Rebels With A Cause, and a Business Plan," NY Times.
With CES starting this week, there are a flurry of announcements coming out with Skype and Vonage leading the charge.
VTech Partners With Skype to Launch First U.S. Cordless Phone for Free Global Telephony
VTech Premieres First Fully Integrated VoIP Phone at 2005 CES
Vonage previews wireless VoIP phone, service
Vonage Announces Partnership With Viseon to Develop Videophone Service
When you look at what Vonage and Skype are doing, it is obvious that the two are heading down the path both seeking telephony domination and seek to accomplish it by working with the tech toy "arms merchants" and suppliers.
How many of these products reach retail is the big key. It is not so much about selling in the idea, as it is selling through to the consumers. So, while I fully expect the male pattern gearness sites to go wowzie over so many of the toy idiot products that are shown this week in the VoIP world, the key to adoption will be what ends up on the sales floor at Staples, WalMart and Best Buy.
For me, I'll be happy with the two line 5.8 handset package from Uniden. I saw a single unit with base last night at Staples, but without additional handsets. I want that so when I upgrade my CallVantage box to the new two line, Linksys WiFi router I can have both lines working (sans hunting/rollover for now but I may have that figured out too).
Five historic waterfront buildings in Red Hook (New York) will be razed to make way for a parking lot for Ikea's planned megastore.
The oldest building, dating to the Civil War, was being demolished yesterday because it was deemed unsafe by Ikea engineers.
Whether or not Ikea will be allowed to destroy the other buildings depends on which government agency has jurisdiction over the land.
If the Army Corps has jurisdiction, there are barrieres before demolition can begin, as the buildings are eligible for listing on the national register of historic properties.
But the city's Buildings Department has said that because the buildings aren't landmarked, it couldn't prevent their demise.
Via Curbed < NY Daily News.
president of Dorfman Investments in Boston, is a columnist for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own. His firm or its clients may own or trade investments discussed in this column.
